Gabriel's Guide to Kicking Metatron's Ass
by thechosenone305
Summary: After Cas gets a strong lead on what could possibly be the real and actually alive Gabriel, Team Free Will is reunited once again to search out for the one familiar face that is hopefully still on their side. Along the way, the family business returns, secrets are revealed, and Dean learns that the past will never be through with him. Destiel, Sabriel. Post 09x18. Canon Divergence.


**A/N: I watched Meta Fiction. I'm still in denial. Gabriel is alive, goddammit. Never really said he was dead. But basically, an AU where Gabriel is still alive and not an illusion. Picks up right after Sam and Dean leave Cas. Cas doesn't follow Metatron's orders in this one.**

**Also known as someone hold me please because that episode was nerve wrecking. Oh god, that episode. I am in denial. Gabriel will be back. He is my new Coulson.**

**Canon divergence, basically an AU. Really. A really huge, long AU. I have so much planned, and written, for this already, y'all got no clue. Post 09x18, AU onwards from there.**

**Fear the finale. Fear it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.**

**Enjoy!**

"Sam, I think I found a lead on Gabriel."

It was a rainy afternoon when Sam received a call from Cas.

Sam knew of what was going on between Dean and Cas. Cas was mad about the Mark of Cain. Sam just really mentally called it a lovers' spat. It always happened between them.

But what stood out to Sam the most was that Cas called him. He always called Dean first.

That showed that he really was mad at Dean.

But of course, Sam listened. "What do you got?"

"He's been living under the alias of Gabriel Smith in Jacksonville, Florida. I trailed his picture. And it's him."

"Dean, I know you and Cas are mad at each other. But think about it. Gabriel can help us take Metatron down."

It brought back the feeling of deja vu, back when both Sam and Dran thought it was the Trickster, not Gabriel. And now, nearly five or six years later, there's Sam talking about the possibility of Gabriel helping them.

Dean didn't even look up from the map. "Sam, Cas doesn't want to see me."

Sam sighed. "Come on man, you really can't think that."

But thing was that Dean did. He really did. He pissed Cas off.

"He hasn't called or texted me in a week. Pretty sure he's pissed."

"He was busy getting a lead on Gabriel."

Dean looked up from the trunk and gave Cas a small nod. "Cas."

Cas gave him a small nod in return. "Dean."

It was all they said to each other in replacement of a greeting. Dean continued rummaging through the false trunk of the Impala, mumbling to himself about something being missing.

Cas looked around, his hands fidgeting in the pockets of his coat.

"Ready to go?"

Their duffel bags were in the trunk.

Cas suddenly remembered. "Hang on."

Before any of the Winchesters could say anything, Cas placed both of his hands on each of their chests and with some of his grace, branded Enochian symbols on their ribs.

Like the first times, both of them winced and groaned in pain.

Dean winced and let out a small groan. "Ouch, give a guy some warning next time."

Sam winced as well, grabbing onto the Impala so he wouldn't fall. "I thought we already had the symbols from last time," he said still in pain.

"They got erased after the Apocalypse."

Ah, the Apocalypse. Brought back harsh memories.

Dean took a breath, opening the door to the Impala. "Well, give a guy a warning next time."

"I'm sorry."

"Just get in the car," Dean grumbled, opening the door and sliding into the driver's seat. He put his keys into the ignition and brought the engine back to life.

Sam followed in the passenger seat, Cas going into the back.

Dean didn't look at either of them as he pulled out into the road, not touching the radio. He had a frown on his face, his jaw set and eyes focused on the road.

Sam sighed. It was going to be a long ride.

It was Dean who broke the silence after two hours into the road.

"So what's the plan? We're just gonna knock on Gabriel's door and hope for him to help us?" Dean asked, his tone coming out harsher than he had intended.

"I couldn't contact him in fear of having the angels hear about him."

"I thought angel radio was down."

"It's still running. I turned it off, though. I didn't want to risk it."

"So there's a high chance Gabriel is alive," Sam said.

"The dick could've at least sent us a text or something. 'Oh hey guys, I'm still alive. I actually faked my death.'" Dean scoffed. "I honestly thought he was dead."

"Did you miss Gabriel?" Cas asked.

"I didn't say that."

Sam rolled his eyes. Dean was always stubborn. But Gabriel wasn't that bad. Sam thought he was alright. Even through all the things they went through with him, being slapped with the cruel reality. He meant well.

But honestly, underneath Dean's "no fucks to give" exterior, Sam knew Dean had at least a small soft spot for the archangel

Two words: Dr. Sexy.

But all in all, Gabriel was important. If it weren't for him, the Apocalypse would have happened. And maybe, Sam would still be stuck in the Cage. And considering that all of Sam and Dean's friends are dead, maybe having Gabriel back in their lives would help liven up the atmosphere.

Sam had lost way too many people. So had Dean. Cas as well. And at the moment, all they really had was each other.

Kevin was gone. Charlie was in Oz with Dorothy, possibly fighting in a Civil War. Bobby was gone. Jo, Ellen, Ash, Rufus, they were gone. Garth was with his werewolf wife, happily enjoying his new life with her.

But Cas was always there. He'd always return to Sam and Dean. Mostly Dean.

Sam knew Dean was stubborn.

Dean continued driving, passing by various signs showing the nearest cities and rest areas.

"I'm gonna take a nap."

"Knock yourself out," Dean replied bitterly.

"In the backseat."

Only then did Dean catch what Sam was doing.

"I'm not gonna pull over."

"No, you will," Sam said firmly.

Dean shot Sam an irritated look. "Bitch."

Shooting Dean an equally irritated look, Sam replied with "Jerk."

Grimacing, Dean pulled over and let Cas and Sam switch seats.

Dean could feel Cas' piercing stare as he began pulling onto the road.

Soon, Sam fell asleep. The radio was off, a habit Dean developed over the years of having Sam take a nap in the car. He knew Sam slept like a log, the sound of the Impala on the road lulling him to sleep. But he still kept the radio off.

Dean always packed an extra blanket and pillow, leaving them in the trunk. But Sam had gotten them and left them in the backseat, along with his laptop and backpack. Sam always ended up using it, curling up against the door like a huge, overgrown puppy. The rest of him was somehow fitting in the back seat.

Dean was usually always at ease with Sam being asleep. It comforted him. Brought back memories of having Sam take naps in the backseat as a kid.

But now, he was not as relaxed as he thought he would be.

Dean snuck a look at Cas.

Cas was no longer looking at him. Instead, he was leaning his head on the glass of the window, looking at the green scenery. His ankle was resting on his knee. He was looking out the window. He was deep in thought, not paying attention to Dean.

Good.

Cas didn't show a sign of wanting to talk. Dean wasn't sure to be relieved or concerned.

Last week's reunion had been...tense. Metatron was being a meddling bastard as always. Literally playing God. They encountered Gadreel, Dean getting a beating out of him, something he wasn't too proud of. Cas was held hostage by Metatron and they traded in Gadreel for Cas.

At the time, Dean felt some relief. Cas was with them, even if it was for a few moments. That was good.

During those few moments, Cas filled them in on what had happened; how Metatron posed as Gabriel. How Metatron wanted Cas to lead the rebel angel army.

Dean thought it was a dick move of Metatron, posing as Cas's dead brother. Sure, Dean wasn't a huge fan of Gabriel, seeing just how many times the trickster dickhead killed Dean over and over again in that infinite Tuesday just to prove something. And there was the some where they were in the TV shows. Except for the Dr. Sexy part, he didn't mind. But he was never saying that out loud, obviously. But the dude was alright. Dean wasn't Gabriel's biggest fan, but he tolerated Gabriel. They were on the same side anyways.

Gabriel was Cas's brother, one he was apparently close to in Heaven. And one that died during the Apocalypse. But Cas never gave up. He was gonna search for his family, the ones that was still hopefully on their side.

That being Gabriel.

Gabriel was a rebel from the start of the Apocalypse. He wasn't on the angel's side, hell's side. None of that crap. Gabriel was on humanity's side. Dean wouldn't admit out loud but he honestly thought it was admirable.

But of course, since Metatron is a douchebag, Gabriel coming back to Cas was all an illusion to get Cas to lead the rebel angel army. Cas realized that. Enter the trade of Gadreel and Cas.

Once Cas was safe, he found out about the Mark of Cain and he was not happy.

Scratch that. He was _pissed._

Dean made Cas curse. And you know you've fucked up really badly when Cas causes.

Dean left Cas on a bitter note, feeling regret and guilt in his stomach. Because aside from Sam, the one person he didn't want to hurt was Cas. He didn't have many people in his life, and he didn't want to disappoint them.

And now Cas was pissed off with him. Majorly.

Dean left his phone on all night, expecting a call or at least maybe a text. He got the goose egg. Nothing. No word from Cas, absolutely nada.

So it continued. Dean didn't talk to Cas for a while. A week. Dean continued with his life, the temptation of wanting to text Cas, or even call him, running across his mind often. Taking the initiative, starting the whole thing over.

The week went by. Dean kept on drinking, feeling the mark burn, which he knew wasn't good. But it didn't matter. Sam tried his best to pry him away, but he couldn't. They both didn't have a case.

Until Cas found a lead on the real Gabriel. The son of a bitch was never dead.

With Sam's persuasion, they went back to Cas.

Ever since they loaded up into the Impala and began heading out into the road, it's been like walking on a field full of hidden land mines. Dean didn't know what to do or even what to talk about because he was scare of it all blowing up in his face.

Dean wanted to talk with Cas. He needed to explain why he was doing this. Why he had the mark. Why even though it was killing him in the inside, it would benefit them in the long run. How he could get rid of Abbadon once and for all.

But he didn't. He didn't want to mess things up more than they already were. He'd only make things worse. Like he had already done with everything else.

So he let the silence continue, no matter how much it burned him up inside.

Dean continued driving on the empty road, grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"Does it hurt?" Cas asked.

Dean looked over at Cas.

"Does what hurt?"

"The mark."

Dean felt uneasiness settle in his stomach.

Man, did he want to tell Cas everything. He wanted to tell him about the mark. About the pain. About the urges it brought to murder. About the time he felt like he was about to kill Sam.

"It depends."

Well, it wasn't a lie.

Dean continued looking onto the road.

Cas sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Damn it, Dean."

_I know, Cas. I know._

Dean wanted to say the unspoken thoughts out loud, but he didn't want to fuck up any more than he already had.

So he stayed quiet and continued driving.

The more Dean thought of it, they were getting closer to August. August 2014. He still remembers. The future of what could have been in the case that Dean said no to Michael. Croatoan virus. Dean took a look into the ugly future. The future of what could

have been the end.

Cas became a pill popping junkie. Sam said yes to Lucifer. And then there was Chuck telling him to hoard the toilet paper. His future self willing was to sacrifice friends just to kill the Devil, something that still left Dean an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Sure, that future was most likely impossible now because Lucifer was in his cage with Michael. The Apocalypse was a thing of the past, something Dean was glad to have moved on from.

But Lucifer's words still haunted him.

_"You will always end up here."_

Even if the Croatoan virus hadn't shown up, Dean still felt a little part of him be afraid of the universe that could still happen, considering what was going on with Heaven and Hell. He even had the Mark of Cain and who knows what effects it may have on him a few months down the road.

Those details still lingered in his mind, along with Purgatory, even that asshole Dick Roman. Smarmy Leviathans. And through it all, Cas was there. Fighting alongside him.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. Dammit. It was all true. Cas was always there.

And he was in the passenger seat.

Heh. He had an angel in the passenger seat. Never thought he'd say that in a while.

But really...How much shit had they even gone through together? A lot. A lot of it. Demons, Leviathans, Angels, other things that went bump in the night. Even the antichrist at one point.

Their bond was strong, Dean can say that. It's really strong.

And Dean had to mess it all up with the Mark of Cain.

Thing was that Dean knew what he was doing. He knew just how much it felt to enjoy killing monsters with the Mark. He knew how good it felt now to kill.

And that was scaring him.

It gave him an uneasy feeling, the mark. Bloodlust, the urge to kill. The first time it happened, he could feel the power. The bloodlust. He remembered the moment of fear when he dropped the blade and realized he was thinking of killing his brother.

It was absolutely horrifying.

Days like this when he secretly was glad about the fact that Hell's biggest douchebag had the First Blade with him. Yeah, Crowley was a smarmy dick. It was true. It was in his nature. But really, the guy had some intuition. Who knew what could have happened if Dean had the Blade with him right now?

He could feel the mark burn a little bit. He grit his teeth, letting out a small hiss.

"Dean?"

"I'm fine, Cas."

Dean's grip on the steering wheel tightened a little bit more. He grimaced.

"The mark burns every now and then."

"How?"

"It just does. It burns if I get too deep into….bad thoughts."

It really did feel like he was in a field full of land mines.

"So…Gabriel. He's not dead?"

"No."

"But….He was stabbed."

"I know. He was stabbed with an archangel blade by Lucifer."

"You weren't there, though."

Cas sighed. "It was years ago…But I flew to see what had happened and I saw the body."

_Oh…._

"I'm sorry."

Dean's tone had softened a little bit. He knew what it was like, seeing your brother dead. He knew it all too well.

He still remembers seeing Sam getting killed right in front of him, Dean not being fast enough to stop it. Seeing the light go out in Sam's eyes, his baby brother.

"I know how you feel, Cas. I really do."

"When I saw his body, there was a halo," Cas said, a tone of sadness in his voice. "He's the only angel with a halo."

"But there's a chance he might be alive."

"That's true."

"I really can't stay mad at you, Cas. It's so hard."

Dean then said, "Sam, you're awake, aren't you?"

"Busted."

Dean rolled his eyes and continued driving, but with his mind at ease a little bit, knowing that he was going to be okay with the two most important people in his life.

Yeah, he was going to be okay.

For now.

**A/N: A bit lengthy, I know. But I couldn't resist. This is gonna be one hell of an AU, pun not intended. It's gonna be great :) **

**Fear the finale is going to be my battle cry until Tuesday.**

**But yeah! Thanks for reading! Reviews would be great!**


End file.
